Top 10 Foods for Beautiful Skin

Shea Butter

Any woman looking to get rid of stretch marks has at some point been recommended shea butter to lighten those tell-tale discolorations. While there's no strong body of evidence to back up that particular claim, shea butter is packed with skin care benefits.

This substance from sub-Saharan Africa has been used for generations to treat ailments from arthritis to leprosy [source: Nahm LINK TO LMI]. It's even used on dogs to protect their skin and paws.

Shea butter is composed mainly of triglycerides, such as palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic fatty acids. These make it a fantastic emollient, and, combined with its thick texture and creaminess, a moisturizer that really sticks.

But it's the other part of shea butter that researchers are more interested in: the unsaponifiables. They're the parts of oils and fats that don't form soaps. Shea butter is full to the brim with them, and they have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. And, to make it even better, cinnamic acids in the unsaponifiables absorb UV radiation [source: Alander and Andersson].

Next: You'll probably be happy to find out that what's good for your skin can also be really good for your taste buds.

Moisturize Like an Egyptian

Cleopatra used lipstick made out of ground beetles and painted kohl around her eyes. She also may have been aware of the cosmetic benefits of shea butter -- sources from her time mentioned clay jars of it being transported [source: Nahm LINK TO LMI].